Huber done at Mount St. Joseph

Mount St. Joseph head football coach Rod Huber announced on Twitter he is retiring from coaching to pursue other professional interests after 27 seasons with the Lions football team, the past 17 as head coach.

"I can't thank our players, coaches, alumni, and administration enough for allowing me to serve as the head coach of the Mount (St. Joseph) football program," Huber said in a Mount St. Joseph news release. "We have come so far in every facet of the program, and I am proud of the tremendous amount of success we have had."

Huber began his coaching career at the Mount in 1990, the football program's inaugural season, as defensive line coach under head coach John Pont.

In 2000, Huber was named the Mount's third head football coach, and since then the Lions have developed into an annual contender in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, with its most recent trip to the playoffs in 2009. Under Huber, the Lions have amassed a 106-68 record, captured four conference championships and made five NCAA Division III playoff appearances.

MSJ was 6-4 this past season.

Off the field, the Lions have been involved with several community service projects under Huber's leadership, including Habitat for Humanity, Pink Ribbon Girls, Samaritan's Feet and other outreach efforts in Greater Cincinnati and beyond.

"We appreciate the many contributions coach Huber has made to the Mount's football program, our athletic department and Mount St. Joseph University," MSJ athletic director Steve Radcliffe said. "His teams' achievements are surpassed only by his love of the game and commitment to the Mount football program."

Assistant head coach Tyler Hopperton will serve as interim head coach while a search is conducted to find the Mount's next head football coach.